Congratulations to the Hoag Classic Champion, Kirk Triplett!

Kirk Triplett made a 12-foot eagle putt on the second hole of a playoff with Woody Austin on Sunday, March 10, to win the inaugural Hoag Classic. The 56-year-old, Triplett forced the playoff with a similar left-to-right breaker for birdie on the par-5 18th, then matched Austin with a par on their first extra trip down the tree-lined hole.

“We had our chances and neither one of us could get a stranglehold on it,” Triplett said. “I feel pretty lucky to have just had a chance to be in the playoff.”

After Triplett’s seventh PGA TOUR Champions victory, he rose the Hoag Classic trophy in front of a cheering crowd at Newport Beach Country Club and donned the “Doctor of Golf” lab coat, in honor of the title sponsor.

“My years playing the pro-am here, I played with many people from Hoag Hospital and I know that they make a big difference in this community, so thank you for supporting them.”